cupcake challenge ::: week 2 ~ mocha

I'm not a mocha drinking kinda girl so when this challenge came up I started thinking of how I could participate but not have to smell mocha filling the house.  I thought about decorating cupcakes to look like the mocha moth, but I didn't want to try and pull that one off.

Then I got to thinking of ways to make cupcakes look like a cup of mocha... mug cakes!  In the little espresso cups I got my Girlies for tea parties.  The best thing about these cup-a-cakes is it takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. 

a-cup-a-cake
4 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons vanilla sugar
2 Tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 small/medium egg or 2 Tablespoons of a large whisked egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients in a 1 cup glass measuring cup or a large mug.  At this point you can nuke the cup-cake in the microwave for about 3 minutes.

I separated the mix into 6 espresso cups filling them half full.  Then put 2 of the cup-a-cakes at a time in the microwave for 1 minute 20 seconds. 

If you like mocha you could substitute the sugar and cocoa powder with Ghirardelli Chocolate Mocha Hot Cocoa powder.

I spooned some vanilla whipped cream on the top and then a little chocolate whipped cream in the center and swirled it with a toothpick.

whipped cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons vanilla sugar
1 Tablespoon of dark chocolate set aside

Whip cream, vanilla, and sugar together until it starts to thicken up.  Spoon onto each of the cup-a-cakes.   Add the dark chocolate powder to the remaining whipped cream and mix in.  Spoon in the center of the vanilla whipped cream and swirl with a toothpick.

Now to enjoy my cup-a-cake!

cupcake challenge ::: week 1 ~ strawberries

strawberry shortcake cupcakes

vanilla butter cupcakes 

whipped cream

1lb strawberries

I like homemade whipped cream, but you could use store bought or cool whip.  Toss the bowl and beaters into the freezer to chill them while slicing the strawberries. 

whipped cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

6 Tablespoons vanilla sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Take the bowl and beaters out of the freezer and add heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla to the bowl and whip on high till whipped cream consistency.

Spoon whipped cream onto the cupcake and arrange the strawberries.

- My Littles didn't want to decorate their own.  They just wanted to eat them as I made them.

-Cream cheese whipped cream frosting sounds yummy.  So next time I will give this one a try.

vanilla butter cupcakes

I decided to join a cupcake challenge.  Tonight I baked my cupcakes and tomorrow I will be decorating them to go with the week one challenge ~ strawberries.  My Littles are looking forward to decorating their own cupcakes too!

Vanilla Butter Cupcakes
2 stick unsalted butter (1/2 pound)  ~ at room temperature
1 3/4 cups vanilla sugar
4 large eggs ~ at room temperature
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and place 24 cupcake liners in 2-12 cup muffin tins.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.  Add vanilla to the milk and set aside.  In a large bowl cream butter and slowly add vanilla sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Continue beating and add eggs 1 at a time.  Keep mixing the batter adding 1/3 of the milk mixture then 1/3 of the flour mixture.  Repeat until all ingredients are combined. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 22-28 minutes.

-Since this was a cake recipe I turning into cupcakes there was a little batter left.  I coated a small baking dish with no-stick cooking spray, poured in the remaining batter, and baked it in the oven for 33 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit.

-The recipe could easily be halved or quartered. 

-If you don't have cake flour you can make it by sifting flour and cornstarch together.  Measure a cup of flour and then remove 2 Tablespoons of the flour and add it back to the bag. Pour the flour into your sifter and add 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch.  This recipe calls for 3 cups of cake flour so do this 3 times.  Now you sift the mix together 4 times.  When you are done sift it another 2 times just to be sure it is sifted together.

-If you don't have baking powder you can make it with 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 4 teaspoons cream of tarter, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Use a whisk to mix it together very well and measure off the amount you need.  Store the remaining in an air tight container.

Now I'm going to eat some of my little cake with the last jar of strawberry cranberry juice jam I made last year.

a little sewing

A friend of mine was recently called to Young Women. On the way home from church that afternoon I remembered seeing a Young Women Personal Progress book holder that I wanted to make with my oldest Girlie in the autumn when she starts attending YW.  So I was excited to get to make one for my friend right away!  I don't like to wait on projects.  Probably because when I wait they don't get done.

You can find the pattern at  Chocolate on my Cranium.  I did make an adjustment to the pattern so I could add the Guidebook for Parents and Leaders of Youth.  My fabric and interfacing pieces were 14x24 inches and my pocket guide lines were at 5 1/2", 11 1/4", 12 1/2", and 17 3/4".

somebunny

decided it was time to make a post. 

I made this little bunny the other day with some leftover yarn from the baby blueberries hats I made last year.  This has been my favorite spring bunny to make for about 10 years.  It is all about how you fold and sew it.  Because to make it you knit a square, ears and make a pompom tail.  The bunny pattern can be found here.